“Why?” I asked, forcing a steady voice despite the unease creeping over me.
Patricia’s gaze flickered toward his parents, who were speaking rapidly in Spanish. Then she turned back to me and delivered a sentence that shattered everything I knew.
“Because his parents just asked when he’s finally going to tell you about his real wife.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her. His what?
Patricia’s expression remained grim. “His real wife. In Spain.”
The words echoed in my mind. Real wife? But I was his wife. For three years.
The Silence That Spoke Volumes
The air in the room grew thick. I tried to laugh it off, dismiss it as some bizarre misunderstanding.
“You must be mistaken,” I murmured.
Patricia’s voice was firm. “I’m not.”
I turned to Luis, searching for answers. His face had gone pale, his fork frozen in midair. His hands trembled as he slowly lowered it onto his plate.
His parents had gone quiet. His mother clutched her rosary, lips moving in an anxious prayer.
I couldn’t ignore it anymore. My voice trembled as I finally asked, “What is she talking about?”
Luis’s parents exchanged a look. His mother spoke first.
“Hija,” she said softly—the Spanish word for daughter felt like a dagger. “I am sorry. We never wanted to be the ones to tell you, but you deserve to know.”
Her next words ripped the ground out from beneath me.
“Luis married another woman in Spain years ago. Her name is Sofia. They have two children together.”
A Lifetime of Lies
My breath caught in my throat. I stared at her, willing her words to be a cruel joke.
Two children?
Sofia?
I turned back to Luis. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He didn’t deny it.
I had spent months crying over my struggles to conceive, aching for a child—never knowing that he already had a family.
“How could you?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
I stood up so fast my chair scraped against the floor. “Pack your things. And leave.”
Luis rushed after me. “Emma, please. Just let me explain.”
I spun around, anger burning through my veins.
“Explain what?” I demanded. “That you’ve been living a double life? That you let me waste years on you while you had a whole family? That I mourned for a child I never had, while you hid the ones you did?”
His excuses blurred together, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Taking Back My Power
I refused to be another casualty of his deception. With Patricia’s help, I tracked down Sofia through social media. When we finally spoke, it was like staring into a mirror—she was just as blindsided, just as betrayed.
Instead of turning against each other, we joined forces.
We filed lawsuits against Luis for bigamy and fraud. The truth unraveled fast—his lies about his marital status were exposed, and even his workplace found out.
He lost his job, his reputation, and both of his homes.
Sofia took full custody of their children. His parents, once complicit in his deceit, could no longer defend him. Even they looked at him with shame and disappointment.
Luis was left with nowhere to go except back to Spain—disgraced, penniless, and alone.
Closure, Served Cold
Months later, Patricia and I sat at the same café where I had once met Luis. This time, I was free.
She raised her glass of sangria with a grin. “To new beginnings.”
I smirked. “To karma.”
Patricia clinked her glass against mine. “And to revenge.”
I swirled my drink, letting the satisfaction settle in.
“Or, as I like to call it—his last paycheck.”
Luis had taken years of my life. But he wouldn’t take my future. That was mine again.
And this time, I would make sure it was built on truth, strength, and the freedom to live on my own terms.